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Istabraq Festival Hurdle Odds: Thousand Stars heads the betting for Mullins and Walsh

The Leopardstown Christmas Festival concludes on Thursday and the highlight of the final day's racing is the Grade 1 Istabraq Festival Hurdle run over two miles. Three winners of this race have gone on to win the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in the past five years and Hurricane Fly was the latest to complete this double twelve months ago. Willie Mullins' champion two mile hurdler was set to take his place in this race, but the decision to leave him out following injury raises further questions to his participation for the big race in March, with bookmaker Ladbrokes pushing him out to 2/1 favourite for the Champion Hurdle.

Stablemate Thousand Stars was a winning deputy for Hurricane Fly last time out in the Grade 1 Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown. The Willie Mullins trained seven year old has really improved, rated 134 when winning the 2010 County Hurdle at Cheltenham, he was fourth in the Champion Hurdle twelve months later and hasn't finished out of the top two in top class company in five runs since. Now officially rated 164 the grey is 12/1 for the 2012 Champion Hurdle and a short priced favourite at 11/10 with Ladbrokes to win Thursday's big race at Leopardstown.

Second in the betting is the four year old mare Unaccompanied trained by Dermot Weld. The dual performer is 4/1 with Ladbrokes and comes here off the back of a good three lengths win in a listed race at Naas back in November. A winner of a Grade 1 juvenile contest at Punchestown last February, she was beaten two and a quarter lengths into second place by Zarkandar in the Triumph Hurdle at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival. She was a beaten favourite in the Punchestown equivalent in may before winning a listed race on the flat at the Curragh. She's a 16/1 chance for the 2012 Champion Hurdle but there's a chance she could go up against the unbeaten Quevaga in the Mares Only race at the Festival in March.

Further down the betting The Real Article and Oscars Well can both be backed at odds of 6/1 with Ladbrokes. Edward O'Grady trains the six year old The Real Article who was beaten four lengths by Voler La Vedette on his last outing in the Grade 1 Hatton's Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse at the beginning of the month. He had picked up two decent wins prior to that run earlier this season and despite the form of Voler La Vedette since, it's difficult to see him winning this.

Oscars Well blundered at the last in the 2011 Neptune Novices' Hurdle when arguably looking the winner. The six year old trained by Jessica Harrington eventually finished fourth but his form this season has been disappointing. Beaten three and three quarter lengths by The Real Article to finish third in the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle at Down Royal on his first appearance of the season and followed that up beaten over five lengths by Thursday's market leader in the Morgiana Hurdle last time out. He obviously has class based on the way he loomed up in the Neptune but this two mile trip could be too sharp for him and it would be a leap of faith to back him to reverse the form with Thousand Stars here.

At 9/1, Moondice trained by Paul Flynn is the best of the rest but Thousand Stars should be too strong for this field.

Istabraq Festival Hurdle Odds

11/10 Thousand Stars
4/1 Unaccompanied
6/1 The Real Article
6/1 Oscars Well
9/1 Moon Dice
20/1 Luska Lad
66/1 Gimlis Rock

Odds supplied by Ladbrokes.com, with best odds guaranteed on all UK and Irish horse racing.

Posted: Wednesday, 28th December 2011
Author: Russell Lloyd
Tags: istabraq festival hurdle, leopardstown, thousand stars, ladbrokes,

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